The Shipwreck Arcana

$47,796

2,417

Trapped in a drowned world, you and your allies are doomed -- or are you? Using a mystical deck and a healthy dose of logic, you can predict each others' fates and escape unscathed.

The Shipwreck Arcana is a compact, cooperative game of deduction, evaluation, and logic, combining simple, speedy play with incredibly deep strategy. Players take turns playing tokens according to rules found on an ever-changing tableau of cards, in order to convey information to the rest of the group before their doom arrives. 2-5 players, 20 minutes, recommended ages 10+.

Create and solve complex deduction puzzles. Players take turns having and deducing information.

Communication mechanics encourage participation. The active player can't speak, so no single player can carry the group to victory by themselves.

Plays well with any mix of veterans and newcomers. New players have the opportunity to learn and discuss strategy openly with more experienced players.

Accommodates drop-in/drop-out play. Gameplay easily supports adding or removing players on the fly, without interrupting the pace of the game.

Complex strategy, simple gameplay. During your turn, you draw two tokens and play one. Easy!

Compact. The whole game fits into the token bag.

Want to try the game for yourself? Check out the rules and complete print-and-play files below, or try it free on Tabletopia. Prefer to watch a tutorial? Jump down to the next section.

The Shipwreck Arcana is about cleverly conveying information. Here's a quick overview of how to play.

To set up the game,The Hours card is placed in the central play area, and a row of 4 arcana cards is dealt to the right of it. The fate tokens are placed in the bag, and each player arranges a set of number line tokens in front of them. The arcana deck is kept nearby.

5-player game setup on easy difficulty.

Each turn, the active player draws 2 fates from the bag (without showing the rest of the group), and plays 1 of those fates in front of a card, according to that card's ability.

After this, the rest of the group may try to predict the value of the active player's hidden fate (the one they still have) by evaluating where they played (and where they did not play). If the group chooses not to make a prediction, the active player keeps their fate hidden and only draws 1 new fate on their next turn. Number line tokens track information between rounds.

What's the value of this player's hidden fate?

Play proceeds clockwise to the next player, with points being earned for correct predictions, and doom advancing for incorrect predictions. Arcana cards also fade over time, which changes the tableau, advances the doom track, and unlocks special powers.

There will be a limited run of Leviathan and Chalice pledges, each handmade by CDH Creations. More details here and here.

Check out Rahdo's final thoughts on the game:

We make games because we love doing it, but it's not a full-time gig. Without the funding and exposure generated by a platform like Kickstarter, this game simply won't exist. The Shipwreck Arcana has been a passion project of ours for the last two years, and with your help we'll share it with the world.

To thank you for supporting us, we're offering low-cost global shipping, $1 off the game's MSRP, and a free promo card (plus more free promos through stretch goals).

As always, the most difficult part of making a game is making people aware of it. So please consider sharing this campaign with anyone you know that might like The Shipwreck Arcana, whether on twitter, facebook, BoardGameGeek, reddit, or elsewhere. (Makes a great gift for teachers, math-lovers, programmers, consulting detectives, etc!)

Here are some handy avatars to help out:

Meromorph Games consists of twin brothers Kevin and Matthew Bishop, from Annapolis, MD. They love board games enough to make them in their spare time. Norsaga was their first game, funded in 2015 via Kickstarter and now available through their site along with its first two expansions. By day they get paid to do other stuff, like computer science and aerospace engineering.

Risks and challenges

This will be our third Kickstarter campaign, after successfully funding Norsaga in 2015 and its expansion Odds and Endings in June 2017.

Norsaga was delivered to backers ahead of schedule, and Odds and Endings is in pre-production (currently well ahead of schedule). For this project we'll be continuing to use the same manufacturer and shipping company, so we have a pretty good idea what to expect and have already worked to pave the way for The Shipwreck Arcana.

There's always the risk of something unexpected happening, but we've built in a 5% funding margin to buffer against this.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $650 or more
About $650

The Chalice

The ultimate coffee table piece! One (1) copy of the The Shipwreck Arcana with all unlocked stretch goals, plus one (1) limited-edition, handmade all-wood version of the game by CDH Creations (includes custom wooden token set, wooden cards laser-burned on 1/4”maple, a large box from your choice of hardwood, and a personal engraving).